BY-LAW PROSECUTIONS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 21 July 1927, Page 4

BY-LAW PROSECUTIONS.

POLICE ATTITUDE

BOROUGH COUNCIL’S ACTION.

The attitude adopted by the police in reference to prosecutions under local body by-laws, formed the subject of a brief discussion at Tuesday e%*ening’s meeting of the Hawera -Borough Council, when the Mayor and the Town Clerk were deputed to make representations to the Minister of Justice through Mr. H. G. Dickie, M.P., to have altered the decision of the force to. only take action under statuorv regulations and to only communicate information requested by local bodies if the latter banded the ease over to the police. The Town Clerk, Mr. 11. S. Elliott, stated that he had been informed that the local police had received instructions that certain information that the council had requested would only be obtained if the council were prepared to hand the case over to the force. Air. Elliott alsc said that under instructions recently issued prosecutions were being lodged under the statutes whereever possible and not under local body by-laws. This would result in local bodies losing a certain amount of revenue which was now., obtained as a result of prosecutions under the bylaws.

C’r. E. Morrissey remarked that he thought the matter should be referred t> the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association.

The Mayor (Mr. E. A. Baccy) considered that the council should take action with a view to securing the best cooperation between the police and local bodies. He moved that representations should be made to the Minister of Justice with a view to having the recent instructions amended. In seconding, Cr. A. Reid suggested that representations should be made through the member of Parliament for 11:e district. The Mayor withdrew his motion in favour of Or. Reid’s suggestion', which Or. Strange seconded and which was carried. ,